McGuireWoods earned praise from legal decision makers at top corporations for its strong performance in key client service activities, lifting the firm to sixth place in the 2016 Client Service A-team rankings published by Boston-based BTI Consulting Group. McGuireWoods leaped 14 spots in the 2016 survey, which is based on unprompted feedback from leading legal decision makers at large organizations with $1 billion or more in revenue.
This is the fourth consecutive year and 10th time overall since 2002 that McGuireWoods has made BTI’s elite list of 30 firms. Only 13 firms have made the list at least 10 times in the last 15 years.
“McGuireWoods draws on the strength of its improved client focus and ability to understand the client’s business, which are now at leadership levels, while simultaneously becoming more innovative,” the BTI report concludes. “Corporate counsel now recognize McGuireWoods for its skill in handling problems in a best-in-class manner.”
The findings are based on 319 in-depth interviews between March 9 and Sept. 10, 2015 with the top legal decision makers at companies in 15 industry sectors.
Overall, 322 of the 650 core law firms that serve Fortune 1000 companies were singled out for their performance in at least one of the 17 activities that drive superior client relationships. The 30 firms with the highest overall scores were recognized in each of the 17 activities, outperforming all other firms by a factor of five. The BTI report says those firms “impress clients with their savvy, outpace all other firms in service, and reap real financial benefits from their efforts.”
Notably, McGuireWoods is ranked among the “Leaders of the Best” in all four areas that clients singled out as most important when it comes to differentiating a firm from its competitors: “Commitment to Help,” “Client Focus,” “Understands the Client’s Business” and “Provides Value for the Dollar.”
“We’re proud of the relationships we have built with our clients and grateful for the confidence they have placed in us,” said Tom Cabaniss, the managing partner of McGuireWoods. “Client service is one of our core values, and we’re honored that our clients appreciate the dedication of our outstanding lawyers.”
Clients lauded the firm for its extraordinary client service during interviews with BTI.
“They are willing to take some risk in pricing because they do their homework first,” one unnamed client said in the report.
“They all partner with us for results and they manage their costs, risks and expectations well,” another stated.
A third client said the firm’s lawyers “are easy to work with, very professional, reasonable, and their approach in M&A is to try to come to a solution.”
McGuireWoods strong showing was also noted in a Law360 story titled “GCs Love These Firms More and More.”